Burned-out-lamp replacer.



Pa rented Aug. 27, 1918.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

IVITNESISES: 1 l [NI/EN TOR. I r J W M I 1n BURNED 0U T LAMP REPLACER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY I3. I914.

Patientod Aug. 27, 1918.

Aviva/viola.

- ry'olefii'y.

UNITED STATES rATENTo FIoE.

WINTHROP K. HOWE, OF ROCHESTER. NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T GENERAL RAILWAY SIGNAL COMPANY, OF GATES, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

BURNED-OUT-LAIIIP REPLACED.

menace.

Application filed July 13, 1914. Serial No. 850,720.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, WiN'rnnor K. Hows, a citizen oi the United States, and a resident of the city of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of: New York, have illvented a new and. useful Burned-()ut'Lamp Replacer, of which the following is a speci flo ation.

This invention. relates to electric 1i hting and. more particularly to a device or re placing a burned'out lamp by a perfect lamp.

The main object of this invention is the construction and arrangement of a simple, inexpensive structure, not likely to be easily deranged, by which a burncdout lamp, particularly such as is used in railway signaling, maybe replaced automatically by a perfect lamp.

Other objectsand advantages will appear as the description of the invention progresses, and the novel features of the inven- .tion will be particularly pointed out in the ap pended claims.

In describing the invention in detail, reference is bad to the accompanying drawings, wherein I have. illustrated a preferred physical embodiment of my invention, and

drum 6.

wherein like-characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout theseveral views, and in elevation; Fig. 2, is a Figure 1 is a front side elevation with parts broken away; Fig.-

3, is a. frontelevation ofa modification; Fig. 4, is a. side elevation of the device .hown by Fig. '3 with arts in section; and Fig.. 5, is a rear detai vertical scction taken on the line 0'65 in Fig. 4, and as viewed in direction of the arrow. X.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, 1 is a standard which is formed into'a' bearing at its upper end, through which passes and of whichis su ported the shaft 2,

which has a flange 4L astened thereto by means of pin 3, which flange 4 has fastened 5 the insulating.

to it by means of screws The drum 6 has two metallic segments, 7 and 8 fastened to itsperiphery and a, further segment 9 also fastened to its periphthey bear upon the periphery of the and 11, are sup- Specification. of Letters Patent.

lining 15.

' striking against Patented Aug. 21- 1918.

spring 10 always contacts with segment 7 and spring-11 contacts with segment 8 when lamp 16 is in the position shown, but with segment 9 when lamp 1'? has been rotated, as hereinafter described into the position now occupied by lamp 16.

Metallic segment 7 is connected by means of a conductor 1; with the metallic lining 15 of tlie'sockets into which the lamps 16 and 17 are screwed. Metallic segment 8 is connected by means'of a wire 18 with the metallic plate 19. positioned in the bottom of the socket into which lamp 16 is screwed, and which is insulated from the metallic The metallic segment 9, in the at such a point that same manner as segment 8, is connected with a similar metallic disk located at the botton ff f thesocket into which the lamp 17 p screwed.

Fastened to the member 13 is a solenoid 22. which has two separate and distinct windings relatively so proportioned as regards ampere turns that if currents of equal values flow through each windin no resulting magnetic effect will be pro need, that is, their magnetic effect is equal and opposite with'equal current flowing therethrough. When one winding only is energized :1 ag netic effect is produced which causes core 23 to be raised, so that its upper end will strike latch 24. Latch 24: is pivoted at 25' and engages with the end of a member 26, which is rigidly attached to shaft 2. The engagcment of latch 34 with member 26 prevents a. rotative movement ofshaft 2 in the direction of the arrow a, Fig. 1.. r

The shaft. 2 has. an arm 27 attached there. to which has a weight 28 fastened to its outerend. This arm extends away from the shaft in such a direction, best shown in Fig. 1, that if the shaft is free to turn, the weight acting on the arm will cause the shaft 2 to tum counterclockwise carryin with it the drum 6, so that the lamp into the position shown occupied by lam 16, and, there remain because of the arnr2.

Referring to Fig. 2 it will be seen th circuit is normally closed through one A ing of the soleno1d,.which circuit, incl the battery 30, is as'follows: Positive nal of battery 30,-wires 31 and 32, onelooil of solenoid 22, wires 33 and 34 to the other; terminal of drum 6 the above trace the battery 30. The current in 17 will be brought d path flows at all times, and,

follows: Positive terminal of battery 30,

Wires 31 and 35,coil of solenoid 22, wire 36, spring contact 10, metallic segment 7, wire 14, metallic lining 15, metallic band 37 of lamp 16, end 38 of filament 3!) of lamp 16, end 40 of filament 39, metallic plate 1!), wire 18, metallic segment 8, spring contact 11, and wires 41 and 34 to the other terminal of the battery 30. Current flow-ing through the above traced path will cause filament 39 to become incandescent, and by reason of one coil of solenoid 22 generating an equal and opposing magnetic effect to that generated by its other coil there will be no tendency to raise the solenoid core 23. If filament 39 of' lamp 16 should become broken, the last above described circuit would be broken, so that one coil of solenoid 22 would be the only one which would be operative, and it consequently would cause core 23 to rise and move latch 24, so that arm '26 would be. free, whereby weight 28 acting through arm 27 would cause lamp 17 to be revolved into the position now occupied by lamp 16 as shown in Fig. 1, and so be in a proper position to cast its rays to the proper place. The movement' of lamp 17 into the position occupied by lamp 16 would also cause the drum 6 to he move so that, although spring contact 10 still resend upon metalli segment 7, the spring contact 11- would then rest upon me lallic segment 9, so that the current flowing in wire 36 from the battery 30 through one coil of aolenoid 22, would flow by means of wire '14 to the-metallic lining ofthe socket into which lamp 17 is screwed, passing through the filament of lamp 17 and thence to the metallic disk similar to 19, and thence to metallic segment 9 and to spring contact 11, which is then resting'upon metallic segment and thence by means of wires 41 and 31- to the other terminal of the battery 30, thus causing the lamp -17 to be lighted.

From the above description it will be seen that the burning out-"of lamp 16 automatically eausesanother lamp to take its place and be lighted, In the modification vshown by Figs. 3, 4 and 5 one lamp 43 is normally in the position 'to give the desired light, but lamps 44, 45

and 40, that is.;thrce other lamps, may'each in turn take a position corresponding with that oif'lampdfzl.

A constant tendcn-cyto revolve shaft 2 is imparted by means of weight-fastened to the end of chain 48, which is wound about pulley 45), and then fastened to the pulley at 50. i

In the modification the core 23 is attached to a pivoted pawl Til. the end ofwvhich, when in the lower position as \llf)\\'ll in liig. 4,contacts with the tooth 52 of ratchet 53, and so prevents the weight l7 from revolving the shaft 2'. When one of the coils of the solenoid 22 doi m-rgized, the core 2?) is raised, causing pawl 51 to be raised. so that the end of the pawl :71 lisengagcs the tooth of ratchet wheel 5-), so that the shaft 2 is re volved countcr-clmrkwise, that is in the direction of the arrows o as shown in Figs. 5, and The movement of shaft 2- causes the drum 6' to revolve until thetooth 54 formed on the inner periphery of annulus 55 fastened to drum 3 comes in contact with the end of pawl 51, whereupon the drum is stopped. In its movement, however, the

drum has caused another set of segmental,

contacts, such as 7 and 8, connected as 7 and 8 are shown connected in Fig. 2, to come into contact with the two 'fmetallic springs 10 and 11, thus completing the circuit be tween those springs so that the lamp 44, which has been |noved,-into the position formerly occupied by lai'np 43 is caused to he lighted, and a circuit is also completed .throughthe do'energized coil of the solenoid 22 so that the core is allowed to dropi carrying with it the'pawl 51, thus allowing a further slight rotated movement of drum 6- until tooth 58 of the ratchet wheel 53 comes into contact withpawl 51, which has meantime dropped, bccause of the fact that teeth 58 and 54 are staggered.

\Vhen lamp 43 burns out, lamp 44 takes its place, and lamp 45 takes the place formerly occupied by lamp 44, and lamp 463 takes the place formerly occupied by lamp 4:), so that when lamp 44 in turn burns out, each lamp will again rotate forward the angular distance between two of the teeth on the ratchet wheel in th manncn as hereinbefore described, so that. a pneiect lamp will at all limes occupy the position now occupied by lamp 43.

Although I have particularly described the construction of one physical embodiment of my invention and a modificationthereof,

and explained the operation and principle thereof; nevertheless, I desire-to have it umlcrstood that, the forms selectecl ,a r0

merely illustrative, butdo not exhaust the I possible physical embodiments of'idc'a, of.

a number of lamps supported by said earfrier, ineans'tcnding'tomove sir-id carrier-in n|c direction, detcn't me :lnimsm adapt d,- a

when released-from its actuated position to warmed to umovementko the ca I and electro-magnetic, n eani-ihfi ldedihi-said circuit for releasing and said mechanism when deenergized and energized respectively.

2. In an electric lig one direction; mso enoid ha'vinf two opposing 'nndings and core; a paw connected to said core of said solenoid; stops connected to saidcan'ier and arranged instaggered relation to cooperate with said pawl; two normally closed circuits each in cluding a source "of current and one of the windings of said solenoid; and means for connecting each lamp into one of said nor mally closed circuits when that 1am reaches a predetermined point in the travei of said carrier, the ampere turns of the windings of said solenoid being normally substantlally equal. v i

ng device, a carrier; a-number of lamps supported by said cap T191; means tenth to move said carrier "1 operatively 3.1mm) electrical lighting a-ppzii atus, a-

carrier, :1 number of lamps supported by the carrier, means tending tomove the cartier in one d rection, mechanism for permitting step by step movement of the carl ler in said d1rection,. said mechanism comprising 1" a toothed annulus andsratch'et wheel con nected to the carrier nud sm-ang ed one inside the other with theln;=iespective teeth with a detent adapt to cooperate wit ]'said teeth, an electroma neti'cdevice having:

opposing windings orcontrolli said mechanlsm; two normally-closed circuits each including a source". of currentand'oneoi the" windings of said device, and means foi' c'onnecting said lamps into one of said circuits successivelyv as each lamp reaches a prede termined point in the moi'ement of the can" rienfthe resistance in said circuits hein pro- .portionerl so that the ampere turns 0 said windings are normally substantially equal.

f WINTHBQP K HOWE.

li'itnesses SOPHIE LEVIN, Main Dncnnn.

' opposing andin'staggered rlation, to ether 

